World Supersport Phillip Island Results 2014

Byron's sure to be hunched over a laptop after the checkers are flown, caught in his own little version of heaven. Whether on dirt, street or a combination of both, MotoUSA's newest addition knows the only thing better than actually riding is telling the story of how things went down.

MV Agusta Yakhnich Motorsport’s Jules Cluzel put the Italian marque on the World Supersport top-step in the 2014 Phillip Island opener. The last time MV was atop the podium in a world championship race was in 1976 at the hands of Giacomo Agostini at the Nurburgring. DMC PTR Honda’s Kev Coughlan took second followed by Core PTR Honda’s Rafaelle de Rosa in third.

It was a hazardous opening to the season as the race was red flagged eight laps in after CIA Insurance Honda’s Jack Kennedy ran into mechanical issues that left oil on the track. Defending Supersport champion Kenan Sofuoglu of MAHI Racing Team India led at the red flag and shot off the start back to first during the restart but on Lap 2 he and Pata Honda World Superbike’s Michael van Der Mark went down. Cluzel battled through the remaining laps and crossed the line two-tenths of a second ahead of Coughlan.

“We were terribly unlucky both during testing and at the start of the weekend,” said Cluzel. “We rode far fewer laps than we should have. So, after that, going on to win was just a dream! Before the start I told my mechanics I’d do my utmost: and that’s exactly what I did, without making a single mistake. It’s a deserved victory; we’ve still got a long way to go but we’re convinced that the bike and the Team have huge potential.”